Appletail's Quest | Ch. 6

Instructions

I LIVVVVVEE ----- The three remaining cats traveled for two days with only small breaks to hunt and eat. Appletail had gone silent for the most part and looked pretty glum as they walked on one silent night. Duckpaw looked back at her for a moment to make sure she was keeping up. "Appletail, it wasn't your fault... we know that you were trying help." Duckpaw told her again and again that Robinpaw's death wasn't her fault but she couldn't help but think that it was her fault. If only she had been faster, stronger, then maybe Robinpaw would have been with them and all would have been normal. Burningpelt looked back at Appetail sympathy showing in his eyes. That was another thing that wasn't normal. Burningpelt had been kinder to Appletail since The Eagle had attacked two nights before. Duckpaw and Burningpelt waited for Appletail to catch up and when she did they went slower for her. Burningpelt sighed. "Appletail, it's okay to grieve but grieving every single day isn't very good for you. Trust me on that." Appletail looked up at him, knowing that what he said is true and actually a little grateful that he was here. Strange. "Yeah, Appletail. We both know that it wasn't your fault, and I'm pretty sure that Robinpaw has already forgiven you in StarClan." Duckpaw reassured Appletail. "But I promised to Leafstar that I would protect you both, and I failed..." Duckpaw shook his head. "Well, at least you've been protecting /me/ perfectly well. And I'm glad that you have!" For the first time since Robinpaw died, Appletail smiled a little. Burningpelt nodded. "You've been doing a great job on that, actually- " His sentence was cut off as they approached a wall of bracken, and they all stared at it, all thinking the same thing. "This... is this the camp the other Clans set up?" Appletail asked aloud, putting a voice to their thoughts. "I- I think so." Burningpelt answered. They stood still for a moment before Duckpaw announced, "Well, what are we waiting for? The camp is right here." He started padding towards what looked like the entrance, followed by Burningpelt. Appletail hesitated though. Something about this place made her uneasy, like something terrible had happened here. "Woah! What happened here?" The voice of Duckpaw made Appletail start padding to where the tom's had gone. When she reached them, she was greeted with the sight of blood and dead bodies littering the camp grounds. "What in the name of StarClan happened here?" Appletail exclaimed having to look away from the dreadful sight. "I- I think this camp was attacked." Burningpelt told her. "But, who would have done this?" Duckpaw asked, joining Appletail. "A very, /very/ powerful enemy." Burningpelt answered. Appletail shook out her fur. "We need to look for any survivors." She told them heading back through the entry way. They both nodded and started heading into the clearing. Appletail padded around dead bodies to the nursery, wondering if the thing that attacked the camp had missed any cats. Inside she saw three dead kits and what she assumed to be the mother. She started tearing up, wondering what monster would kill innocent kits? She sniffed around, looking for any trace of a survivor. A small, feeble mew sounded from inside the bracken wall and Appletail had to prick her ears to hear where it was coming from. She quickly pinpointed a small, white scrawny kit with a small cut on her back, most likely to be from a thorn, not a claw. Pity for the young kit swelled in her heart as she picked her up gently by her scruff. Her eyes weren't even open yet, and her mother had already died. She slowly padded away from the den, seeing that Burningpelt and Duckpaw had already gathered outside. "No one in the warriors den." Burningpelt announced. "Same with the apprentices den. It seems that no cat was left alive." Appletail set the small kit down and sat down with it. "Except for this little kit." She murmured. Burningpelt sniffed the kit. "It's so young. Where did you find her?" He asked. "She was wedged inside the bracken wall of the nursery. I'm guessing that her mother put her there to protect her." Duckpaw looked warmly at the kit then looked at Burningpelt. "Well... what do we do with her?" Burningpelt looked at him. "Well we can't leave her here, that's for sure. Appletail, your the only she-cat here. Could you take care of her?" Appletail nodded. "I'll help!" Duckpaw volunteered directly after she nodded. "Okay, you can help. The first thing you'll need to do is try find a mouse small enough for a kit and chew it up to mush so the kit can eat it." Appletail agreed. Duckpaw shot off right away to go find a mouse. (continued below)